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State of Emergency; Tips for Your Plumbing

by Deirdre Blakeposted Mar 3 2014 11:13AM

State and local police have responded to lots of accidents today and are warning folks to try to stay home and off the roads. The governor issued a state of emergency just after 8:30 Monday morning. The decision means that the Virginia Emergency Operations Center will be fully staffed and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management will also be on hand to help residents with problems or concerns. Terry McAullife can also pull up to 100 national guard member in Virginia into active service to assist emergency responders. State Police will also have extra troopers on extended shifts.
If you left work, getting back into your neighborhood or driveway could be tricky. Kelly Hannon with VDOT says they'll be working on I-95 and local primary roads, likely having to plow and re-plow today. Their goal is to get all roads passable within 48 hours after the snow stops. So, if you live in a subdivision or off a state maintained rural road, you might not see trucks until sometime later on Wednesday. The DMV says it will take you six times longer to stop on snow and ice and doesn't mean you can drive faster or will be safer, just because you have a truck or SUV.
Most area schools and businesses closed on Monday and could stay that way on Tuesday, especially if Fredericksburg gets closer to a foot of snow. You can always get the entire list of delays and closings through the link here on wfls.com.
Crews at Dominion Virginia Power, Rappahannock Electric, NOVEC and PEPCO are on the ready. They are concerned that ice, then heavy snow and wind could weigh down power lines and trees and could cause massive outages. If you lose power, always report it and assume any downed line is energized and dangerous.
Near zero temperatures Monday night will mean that everything that has fallen will turn into hard ice. Local plumbers are reminding us to keep our faucets running, up to the size of a pencil, leaving it right in the middle so the water's a little warm. Doing that and keeping your cabinets underneath open should help to keep your pipes from freezing.